Freelance in Troubled Times
Economic Downturn. Recession. Mini-depression. Bonanza! How can the self-employed be overworked? I haven't time to figure that out. I'm too busy juggling projects and fielding queries from new clients. Apparently I'm not alone. According to a poll at FreelanceSwitch that asked, "How Has Economic Downturn Affected Your Business?" visitors responded (as of this writing):
A few musings on why some writers may be finding more work: as other people lose jobs, many turn to writing a book or have time to finish one (and need editing help or publishing guidance); companies that laid off writers must now outsource jobs to freelancers; former employees decide to strike out on their own with new businesses, new resumes and online businesses--all of which need copy written and edited; and already-established authors are anxious to expand or establish new websites to draw more customers.
Business is slow, but I'm managing 35% (56 votes)Joel Falconer notes:
My freelance business has failed 10% (16 votes)
I'm doing as well as I was before 28% (45 votes)
Business is booming! 26% (42 votes)
While it’s true that recent events have made making a living harder for many people who put themselves in the self-employed or freelance category, many freelancers are finding that business is as good as ever.If you land in the first two categories, however, you might want to register with that site's directory and/or search through the job listings board.
A few musings on why some writers may be finding more work: as other people lose jobs, many turn to writing a book or have time to finish one (and need editing help or publishing guidance); companies that laid off writers must now outsource jobs to freelancers; former employees decide to strike out on their own with new businesses, new resumes and online businesses--all of which need copy written and edited; and already-established authors are anxious to expand or establish new websites to draw more customers.
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 7:55 AM
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2 Comments
journalism--the worst kind. I would not be surprised to find the post or even the blog soon gone. The next person she does this to may not be so kind as not to out her.
While I was checking my listing at Kudzu (to send to a new client), I scrolled down the page. An ad caught my eye:
The nice people who run the 
Cut expenses if you can't cut the layoffs, consolidations, foldings, staplings and mutilations of the writing world. In other words, no pay = no play. No income must mean no outgo. Don't be tempted to live on a charge card. That way leads not only to madness, Madam, but also to bankruptcy and/or a lousy credit rating.
Excuse me, I need to build an AWE badge and write something a little more intelligent and effective for my Twitter profile @GLHancock
"Making the rounds" holds various connotations, depending on whether you're a doctor, drunk, boxer, reporter, or intrepid onliner. I made up that last one because I can't think what to call that burgeoning aspect of my life. Virtual life has become real life for many of us.
If your life partner was so jealous or whatever of your creative endeavors that he or she irrevocably vanished them, what would you do? My first reaction would be to find a heavy, blunt object and give into the searing, blind rage. Maybe others are more mature or less involved with their endeavors, but my writing is me. Is poetry a special case? I do seem to feel more strongly about that than any other of my endeavors.
Today is the second annual Writers Worth Day. This online event is the brainchild of 
If you're serious about blogging for yourself or a business, dip into 
My funny friend, Bonnie Boots, offers 
I almost didn't attend the SD Bloggers Meetup last night at the Sophia Hotel in the heart of downtown San Diego. Why? Several reasons:
I spent this day changing over the email subscription service for this blog to consolidate it with the RSS feed from FeedBurner (now part of the Google Empire). If you want to receive the blog in your Inbox rather than going online, use the form near the top of the right column, click on the "Subscribe" link in the menu at the top of the page, Click on the "Subscribe by email" link in the RSS feed you may be receiving, or click on this one: 
Poetry writing can't be taught. Well, maybe you can learn strict rhyming limericks or doggerel (like I write) . The synthesis of metaphor and sound constituting lyrical, literary works is another matter. But perhaps we can learn from poets' lives and interpretations of their works.
Stop the presses! A major newspaper reviews a self-published book. 
You may have read it first 
Last month when I wrote about how to have better websites for a book, yourself and your writing, I listed some of the components that enable attracting visitors, capturing their attention to keep them browsing, and causing them to return to your site. I promised to explore each of these components more in depth. This is the second follow up article. Today we'll consider 
Remember the phrases "upwardly mobile" and "social climbing"? If you're old enough, you will. Keep them in mind as you read on.
If you prefer the convenience of online learning, check out the wide selection of classes and courses from the Poynter Institute's 
I've been writing about book trailers (video intros, teasers, ads) and podcasts (first only audio, now A/V) for writers since they first began. But video is really taking off this summer. Lengthy, full-blown interviews and panel discussions appear in blogs for a zippy technological edge. The latest I've noticed is in Maria Schneider's 
People approached me with tips for a "good story" when I was a working newspaper staff member, a radio news reporter, and later as a stringer for a major paper. Then they were miffed when I didn't write about the topic they "gave" me (as if it were a present!) I'm sure they had no notion of the work entailed in tracking down the facts about an issue or story. Also, reporters then seldom had the opportunity to present new stories to the people who decided what to pursue and assigned the jobs (editors).
The last 
A good journalist presents a balanced picture of an issue. Here's the flip side about authors and writers having websites: a few reasons not to do it. 
Are you watching Stephen King's story "N"? 
Ordinarily I don't dis others' contributions to make the world a better place for freelancers and other writers. Usually, when I run across an article that makes dubious claims in the guise of expertise, I just try to counter with a positive piece of my own. I'm going to make an exception for an article that Jeff Wuorio wrote for ConnectIT, a newsletter for small and medium businesses.
I'm seeing many requests asking how to remain positive in a world that seems to be so depressing. It looks like everything is gloom and doom: the stock market, prices for necessities, wars, babies stuck in holes, natural catastrophes ... all the media reporting negative happenings. It is true that bad news is news. Some writers feel that being surrounded by so much sadness saps their creative energies. Others point to depression as their Writer's Block. The most difficult situation to deal with must be that of a negative individual in your daily life.
Many readers of 
Usually I'm telling people to "just Google me" as a means for verifying my existence or credibility or simply satisfying curiosity. However, when it comes to book matters, more and more I'm tempted to tell them to "just Amazon me". If only Amazon.com would make that simpler.
The other day I mentioned 
When I talk to writers' groups about having a blog and website, inevitably someone asks, "I haven't even finished my book yet--do I need a blog or website already?" In this month's 
How embarrassing! I invited everyone to join me in The Writer's Chatroom yesterday, and then I showed up late. Mea culpa! However, the part I caught was a great lesson in writerly behavior and attitude. One dude who claimed to be a successful writer was insulting the others, trashing Steven King (I mean THE KING!) and generally making an A$$ of himself.
A new-to-me company, Adaptive Blue, is offering "smart links" and SmartLink Widgets to enhance blogs and websites. They come in a variety of flavors (stocks, music, wine, movies), but we'll focus on the one for books. 
) embedded in your text, using the widget to:
Gasp! Yes, the financial pundits are promulgating the "R" word, daring to utter that daunting 
The country was in a recession at the time. I'd been laid off from 
Perhaps I was naive from the get-go, but I think I've watched this formerly generous and meaningful practice degenerate into just another shallow attempt to obtain link backs (obviated by Google's revision of the PageRank algorithm). It's a silly, blatant form of viral marketing that reached the ultimate (I hope) this holiday with bloggers passing around growing lists of blogs ostensibly as seasonal greetings. Call me Grinch, but I refused to participate.
Envision a picket line with Scarlett O'Hara, Sherlock Holmes, and Lazarus Long carrying signs, "Characters are People too!" Fictional depictions demand an emotional life that is similar to what you and I experience. People in the grip of strong emotions do not always behave in ways that makes logical sense. But they do make emotional sense. For that to happen in fiction writing, it helps to understand the psychology of humans.
Sarah Bird claims to be an attorney (I think--if that's what being a "former litigator" means). At the SEOmoz.org website, she offers a lengthy article on 
We're coming to the time when traditionally we dream up a list of ways to fail during the coming year. They're called 
Scott Rice of the Department of English & Comparative Literature at San Jose State University is growing the website 
You can interpret this title in several equally applicable ways. One was demonstrated on Oct. 15 with the Blog Action Day post. Another is way is simply to participate in writing, by writing. The act of writing can be therapeutic to the self and/or beneficial to others. The type of participatory writing I have in mind, however, happens when the writer takes part in the subject/event/topic being written about. This could get a little dicey for murder and horror writers, so don't get carried away like the 
One of many tactics to promote yourself and/or market your writing is to participate in discussion groups. These are variously called forums, boards and lists. They evolved from the first Internet groups, listserves and BBS (bulletin board systems). 
You gotta love the freelance writing life! No clock to punch. No dress code. No one telling you what to do. Freedom to goof off if you feel like it. Who wouldn't want the good life? And it 
This close to Halloween forgives any misunderstandings -- I am not referring to incantations or magic you can perform with Google products, although I've see mysterious search strings produce fantastic results. I am referring to literal spelling help via the Google tool bar. See? There! It just did it. I typed "toolbar", being prone to iSpeak, and a faint dotted red line appeared under the word as I am creating this message within a posting box at Blogger. If I right click on the underlined word, I am presented with a menu of actions and suggested variants or correct spelling. Something similar happens automatically when I key a word into the Google tool bar's search window within my browser. In this case, I'm using the one for 
As you may know, I regularly take breaks from writing and expose myself to other forms of expression. I hope for a "cross pollination of creativity". Touring an art exhibit almost always gives me ideas to follow up in my own media. Creativity coach Eric Maisel offers advice about 
Some time ago I wrote about pitches replacing press releases, but here's a new twist: making your pitch by phone. I found some tips for the successful execution of pitch calls on the 
Not to develop a writer's block, but to get around one. And I am not necessarily suggesting reading about it, although much material is available from Amazon about 
! In general, reading can help with several different kinds of literary constipation. Take my friend Susie, for example. She was having problems starting to write a mystery novel. Part of the story involved a New Age healer who used crystals.
Anxiety about writing: feeling tense as you approach or sit at the keyboard, a gripping sensation deep in your gut, shoulders creep up to your ears, paralyzed thought processes. Sounds a lot like a form of Writer's Block, no? It can be, and it can strike both fiction and nonfiction writers at any time. Seldom is the cause the writing process or tools you use (unless you have a weird phobia), although the subject or topic you're attempting to write about may cause such fear. A lot of tension can surround a writer's first love scene or sexual encounter (in the writing, not the writer's life).
Even when you're writing for someone else and receiving no byline or credits, many sticky issues can rear up and bite you in the butt. What kind of writing carries no credit lines? Writing for businesses, work-for-hire jobs, and ghostwriting come to mind immediately. Because so many issues can arise around copyrights, use of your name and non-competition agreements, it's better to have these spelled out in the clauses of a contract before you start working. Even then, as the American Society of Journalists and Authors points out in a 
I'm about to flip out over the quality of beginners--and even of those who call themselves Writers. And all because I keep seeing the same word choice and spelling errors repeated in messages to other writers. Now, I could be way off base here, but I think its partly because those errant spellers see those same misspellings and misuses in others' posts, in mailing lists, on "author websites", and they either think the word are O.K. (words like 'definately') or expect the list or forum Mom to clean up after them. Sometimes Their Crankinesses complain about a lack of a spell checker in the systems, to which I point out a multitude of online services and the one built into their word processor. Is it so hard to handle a physical dictionary, anyway?
Here's a link to a free recording of teleseminar which Diane Eble, a book publishing coach and author, interviewing Terry Whalin, literary agent and former acquisitions editor for several publishing companies. At 
